Sister and Savior
by Marie Hawkins
Summary: Mystique had always thought of Charles as a brother. What if some of the bad things she'd done were to save him from himself? Oneshot. First Class spoilers.


The man she loved, or the man she loved. Those were the two choices she'd been faced with. Of course, she loved each man in his own way. Charles had loved her as his sister, taken her in, taught her, and always treated her kindly. Erik on the other hand loved her for who she was, encouraged her to come out of hiding, and truly understood her. He didn't need to read her mind to know her. Leaving Charles behind was one of the hardest things she'd ever had to do in her life. Yet, at the time, it had felt right.

She walked into the spacious room. Cerebro had definitely changed from McCoy's original design. Luckily for her, Erik had explained how simple her mission was and how short of a time it would take. She walked forward opening the small drawer-like hatch she'd been instructed to. Though she and Charles hadn't recently met in the most amiable of circumstances, she felt increasingly guilty being here. She was well aware of what she was about to do. Part of her was glad of it. Charles had always been a stubborn fool. He didn't always see that the right choice was right in front of him. This was one of those circumstances. Charles didn't realize that Erik was right from the beginning. They had evolved and the humans would fight their evolution to the death.

Yet, a part of her still belonged to her adopted brother. It killed her, not fighting alongside him as she used to. She couldn't betray him, and yet here she was- inserting a poison vial that could be the death of him. Why? Because the man she loved had asked her to. As she knelt on the ground beside Cerebro, she hesitated. Her long, blue, slender fingers slid across the vial of metallic looking liquid. She smiled to herself as a memory resurfaced. A memory she had not thought of in a long time.

* * *

><p><em>"Who are you and what have you done with my mother?" he asked. His young face was furrowed with skepticism. She sighed, knowing she'd been caught. Perhaps, this boy would leave her alone if he saw her true form. If he saw her hideousness. She let his mother's form slink off her body, revealing her blue scaly skin. She stared at him for a moment, expecting him to recoil and turn the other way. He stared at her, amazed. It was a reaction that she'd never received before. She began to think that, just maybe, things wouldn't be so horrible for her anymore.<em>

_"You're not afraid of me?" she asked, surprised at the shock still in her voice. The boy's face broke out into a huge grin as he shook his head. He stared for a moment more before breaking the silence._

_"You're hungry, aren't you?" he asked. She nodded. "Then please, help yourself. In fact, how would you like it if I promised you you'd never go hungry again?" With his words her face broke out into a smile wider than she'd ever thought she could muster. She nodded again, too pleased to speak. She'd finally found a companion. She'd finally found someone like her._

* * *

><p>Poor Charles. She wished he'd realize that, eventually, he'd have to choose between the humans and his own kind. Why remain on the side that was going to do nothing but let you down? He'd already been let down by humans before. It was only a matter of time before he lost his life in a futile attempt to save them. She would almost rather kill him herself than have to see him suffer at the hands of humans. Perhaps that's what Erik's goal in sending her here was. Perhaps he knew Charles wouldn't die. Erik had loved Charles as a brother as well. Though the two had drastically different philosophies, they were- at one point- inseparable. Erik wouldn't want to ever kill Charles. If wounding Charles meant helping him to see the light at last, then she'd do it.<p>

She moved her slender fingers quickly, attaching the device to Cerebro. The fluid in the vial quickly turned from its luminescent metallic color, to a thick, black color. She closed the door quickly, trying not to think about the effects this virus would have on Charles. She was doing it for his own good. That's all she ever did; watch out for him and make sure he was on the right track. Thanks to Erik's efforts- as well as her own- he would be on the right track soon enough, and all this ridiculous 'defend the humans' business would be over.


End file.
